MMA Fights To Look Forward To In September 2017

MMA Fights To Look Forward To In September 2017
August 25, 2017
By Ryan Porzl

Note that the time I release these, the full card of certain events have not been released so there may be other fights I would recommend but aren't announced until after I complete this. Also, card subject to change.



Amanda Nunes vs. Valentina Shevchenko (UFC 215, 9/2/17)- For the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship and a rematch from UFC 196 back in March 2016. This fight was originally scheduled for UFC 213 back on July 8th but delayed due to Nunes pulling out due to illness. Nunes is on the roll of her career including a five fight win streak and is coming off the biggest win of her career by successfully defending the championship again former champion Ronda Rousey back in December at UFC 207. Other wins include Shayna Baezler, Miesha Tate (who she beat to win the championship), former title contender Sara McMann, and Shevchenko, herself. Shevchenko is riding a two fight win streak which includes a unanimous decision win over former champion Holly Holm and a submission win over former Ultimate Fighter winner Julianna Pena. The loss to Nunes is the only one Shevchenko has suffered to date in her UFC run and snapped a five fight winning streak. Nunes is currently on the roll of a lifetime especially coming off beating Rousey so the last thing she wants is to lose the title especially right now and to an opponent she already holds a victory over. It also doesn't help she got criticized for pulling out back in July so she needs a great performance to shut the critics up. Shevchenko has a lot riding on this fight. A win allows her to avenge a previous loss and allows her to argue that the previous loss was a fluke. A win also gives her the UFC Women's Bantamweight Title which would be the biggest achievement of her career. A loss makes it two against Nunes which means her future will be in limbo for as long as Nunes is champion.

Jeremy Stephens vs. Gilbert Melendez (UFC 215, 9/2/17)- This is Melendez's debut at featherweight and potentially his last chance to turn things around in the UFC. To say the very least, Melendez has had one of the most disappointing runs in UFC history for someone who people had high expectations for after a highly successful pre UFC run. Melendez is currently 1-4 in his UFC run while riding a three fight losing streak. While his losses are to top notch competition in then champions Benson Henderson & Anthony Pettis as well as future champion Eddie Alvarez and top contender Edson Barboza, it's still not a good record to have. Now, Melendez is dropping down which clearly shows how desperate he is to turn things around. A win for Melendez allows him a clean slate and keep his job but a loss could send him packing as this would be four in a row and it doesn't help he commands a high salary and has previously failed a drug test. Stephens hasn't been doing good either. After scoring the biggest win of his career to date against former Bantamweight Champion Renan Barao at UFC Fight Night: Almeida vs. Garbrandt back in May 29, 2016, he's since dropped his last two fights to Frankie Edgar and more recently, to Renato Moicano at UFC on FOX: Johnson vs. Reis back on April 15th. A win gets Stephens back on track and gets him a name win even if Melendez is currently in a slump while a loss puts his career in jeopardy.

Neil Magny vs. Rafael Dos Anjos (UFC 215, 9/2/17)- Magny is coming off a win over former Welterweight Champion Johny Hendricks at UFC 207 back on December 30th which was a bounce back win after losing to Lorenz Larkin which snapped a three fight winning streak. Magny is one of those fighters who can build a great winning streak but right as he takes that next step, he loses. From 2014-2015, he racked up a seven fight win streak before running into future title contender Damian Maia. Then he racked up a three fight winning streak which included Erick Silva, Kelvin Gastlum, and Hector Lombard before losing to Lorenz Larkin. A win over Dos Anjos would be big as it would not only give him another winning streak but he will have then beat two former UFC champions back to back which should get him another big fight that puts him one step closer to title contention. The former Lightweight Champion Dos Anjos is coming off a successful debut at Welterweight by defeating former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Tarec Saffiedine at UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Correia back on June 17th which snapped a two fight losing streak at lightweight over Eddie Alvarez (where he lost the Lightweight Title) and former Ultimate Fighter Tony Ferguson. Dos Anjos just snapped a losing streak and has a clean slate by winning his first fight of his new weight class so the last thing he needs is to lose now.

Luke Rockhold vs. David Branch (UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Branch, 9/16/17)- Rockhold is coming off a LONG layoff and loss to Michael Bisping at UFC 199 back on June 4, 2016 which resulting in Rockhold losing the UFC Middleweight Championship. The loss also snapped a five fight winning streak which included wins over Michael Bisping, Lyoto Machida, and Chris Weidman (who he beat to win the title). Branch is currently riding an eleven fight win streak with his most recent win being a successful return to the UFC by defeating Krzysztof Jotko by split decision at UFC 211 back on May 13th. Coming off a long layoff, title loss, and injury, the last thing Rockhold needs is suffer another loss as it would further drop him down the ladder and would result in the first losing streak of his career while a win would establish him as back and put him in a position where he would be a win or two away from a title shot. Branch is coming off a very successful run in WSOF (now Professional Fight League) but fighters who enjoy success in the UFC can get a label of overhyped by some fans unless they prove themselves in the UFC. A win would prove Branch is for real, can compete with the top UFC middleweights, and put him right in title contention despite Rockhold coming off a loss and lay off while also giving him the biggest win of his career to date. A loss would snap his big win streak and would result in him having to go back to the drawing board.

Mike Perry vs. Thiago Alves (UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Branch, 9/16/17)- Perry is coming off a win over Jake Ellenberger by KO at UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Lobov on April 22nd which was a bounce back from the first loss of his career which was a unanimous decision loss to Alan Jouban at UFC on FOX: VanZant vs Waterson back on December 17th. Alves is coming off a win over Patrick Cote by unanimous decision at UFC 210 back on April 8th which snapped a two fight losing streak against Carlos Condit and Jim Miller with the latter fight being a failed attempt move down to lightweight (Alves failed to make weight). For Perry, a win would give him the biggest win of his career to date and help him up the ladder with Alves being a former title contender. A loss would be disappointing as it could take another fight or two before he's given a name opponent that can move him up. For Alves, he would obviously love another chance to compete for the title and a win would help him move up the ladder but a loss would likely be it as far as Alves having any chance to get back to the top of the rankings as it'll likely mean that Alves' best days are over and he's become a stepping stone for younger fighters. Alves is going on 34 years old, has fought for sixteen years, and more than 30 fights so the question is how much does he have left.

Benson Henderson vs. Patricky Freire (Bellator 183, 9/23/17)- Henderson is coming off a split decision loss to Michael Chandler from Bellator 165 back on November 19th. Freire is coming off a win over Josh Thomson by KO at Bellator 172 back on February 18th which was a bounce back from his own loss to Chandler back in June 2016 at Bellator 157. These two have history as Henderson defeated Freire's younger brother Patricio last year in a title eliminator fight at Bellator 160. Henderson's Bellator run has not turned out the way he had hoped as he's 1-2 with his only win being over current Featherweight Champion Patricio Freire but due to injury and while his two losses were to then Welterweight Champion Andrey Koreshkov and then Lightweight Champion Michael Chandler, it's still not good to come up short in two title fights. A win gets Henderson back in the winner's circle and allows him to move back in title contention. A loss puts him on a losing streak and there will be questions about whether Henderson can still compete for championships. For Patricky, a win over Henderson would be one of the biggest in his career and get him on a winning streak while a loss sets him back. Best of all, a win allows him to avenge his brother's loss while he could be launched back into title contention especially with Chandler having since lost the title.

Javy Ayala vs. Roy Nelson (Bellator 183, 9/23/17)- This is Nelson's Bellator debut and Nelson is currently coming off a loss to Alexander Volkov by unanimous decision in his last UFC fight at UFC on FOX: Johnson vs. Reis back on April 15th. Ayala is coming off the biggest win of his career over Sergei Kharitonov via sixteen second knockout at Bellator 163 back on November 4th. At 41, Nelson is clearly in the twilight of his career and doesn't have much time left. With this being Nelson's debut, he'll obviously want to win and win impressively in the hopes of getting a chance of one day competing for the Bellator Heavyweight Championship when they ever fill the vacancy. Nelson is a former EliteXC Heavyweight Champion and this is his last chance to potentially become a Heavyweight Champion again. A loss will like mean Nelson will never get another chance at a heavyweight title and will settle into the same position he was for most of his UFC tenure which is a gatekeeper. As mentioned, Ayala is coming off the biggest win of his career over Kharitionov and a win over Nelson will continue to get his name out there and guarantee he would get a bigger fight as his next one. It should also be pointed out that Ayala has become a "spoiler" in Bellator's heavyweight division as he's pulled off a number of upsets including knocking out former tournament runner up Thiago Santos, dominating former tournament winner Eric Prindle, quickly submitting former top heavyweight prospect Raphael Butler, and as mentioned, knocked Sergei Kharitonov out in only sixteen seconds. Nelson could be his toughest challenge but Ayala shouldn't be counted out.

Goiti Yamauchi vs. Adam Piccolotti (Bellator 183, 9/23/17)- This is a fight between two of the brightest lightweight prospects in Bellator. Yamauchi is currently riding a two fight winning streak since moving up to lightweight with his most recent win being over Valeriu Mircea by submission at Bellator 168 back on December 10th. Piccolotti is undefeated at 9-0 with his most recent win being over Brendon Girtz by unanimous decision at Bellator 165 back on November 19th. As mentioned, both are two of the brightest prospects in Bellator's lightweight division and a win would move them up the ladder to bigger opportunities while a loss sets them back and it gives Piccolotti the first loss of his career. Not to mention that it should be a fun fight because of the fact we got two young fighters hoping to make a name for themselves.

Jadamba Narantungalag vs. Tetsuya Yamada (ONE Championship: Shanghei, 9/2/17)- Narantungalag is coming off a failed title shot against Marat Gafurov at ONE Championship: Defending Honor back on November 11th. Yamada is currently riding a four fight winning streak with his last win being over Haotian Wu by unanimous decision at Kunlun Fight MMA 13 back on July 6th. This is Narantungalag's return fight at lightweight as he hasn't competed in the division since losing the LEGEND FC Lightweight Championship to Koji Ando at LEGEND FC 11 back on April 27, 2013. This is Yamada's first fight in ONE since losing to the now Lightweight Champion Eduard Folayang at ONE: Clash of Heroes back on January 29, 2016. Both fighters have a lot to gain in this fight. The former Featherweight Champion Narantungalag is moving back up after failing to regain the Featherweight Championship and obviously wants a win in his return to lightweight. More importantly, Narantungalag is 41 years old so if he wants another run at a title, this is it as he can't afford any more losses. As mentioned, Yamaha last fought in ONE a year and a half ago and would love to prove he's not the same fighter he was when he last fought there. Best of all, a win puts Yamaha one step closer to a title shot which would allow him to kill two birds with one stone as he can win the championship while avenging his loss to Folayang.